Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - In Wireless Era, Banks Come To Us

We used to go to banks. Now, more and more, those institutions are coming to us. Or more specifically to our mobile devices.

imaginBank is the first mobile-only bank in Spain and the first in the world which is operated exclusively on cell phone and social network apps, according to the GSMA, which represents mobile operators worldwide. It also has an ATM search application for smartwatches and a service to check bank accounts, transactions and bills without having to leave Facebook.

69% of shoppers who use high-tech research products on a mobile device during a store visit vs. 54% of non-high-tech shoppers, comScore reported. Also, 76% of high-tech shoppers tracked delivery on a mobile device vs. 65% of non-high-tech shoppers.

Mobile spend is now 37% of all SEM spend (up 23% YoY), per Adobe.

In 2015, only 32% of email was opened on PCs, while 68% was opened on mobile devices, Movable Ink reported.

U.S. Hispanic and African-American voters are more likely than whites to get political news via mobile: Pew

A sanctioned Ted Cruz app enables the politician to capture individuals'  location, contact list, email addresses, AP reported.

Mobile was 86% of Twitter's $641 million in Q4 ad revenue (up 48% YoY).

Mobile games reached $34.8 billion in 2015, captured 85% of all app revenues, according to App Annie.

2016 will be the first year where more than half of the US population uses Facebook, eMarketer predicted.

In an international ranking of LTE download speeds, the U.S. came in 55th place, OpenSignal said.

By 2020, more people will own a mobile phone than have electricity, Cisco said in a forecast.

While lack of lots of mobile in Super Bowl ads was a missed opportunity, it didn’t take the cake on a week when a $63 million lottery ticket went unclaimed.

I came across what was billed as a mobile strategy blog with the last post 856 days ago? Nothing has changed since then, huh?

Notes From A Mobilized Marketer - By Using Meerkat, Politicians Show They Can Live and Learn

Maybe politicians can live and learn. As you may know, Republicans have been slow to use mobile to engage constituents and to raise funds, not to mention post tweets (22 approvals were reportedly needed before a Mitt Romney campaign tweet could go live in 2012). 

So it’s notable that early GOP presidential hopefuls, including Jeb Bush, are using the new video app Meerkat. Meanwhile, Ted Cruz is using SMS to mobilize voters and raise funds.

Apple Store employees are reportedly being trained to give fashion advice for the Apple Watch launch. I guess that we’ll hear things like, “Wear lots of blue with a big logo on your shirt.”

WhatsApp messages sent every day now exceeds the number of standard texts.

Home Depot’s mobile app helps customers find 35,000 SKUs when visiting a store. Lowe’s has a similar program.

In the U.S., TNS projects 28% will use mobile to buy online in 2015, up from 22% in 2014.

Advertisers will spend $3 billion in the U.S. this year trying to get you to install mobile apps, per eMarketer.

Only half of app makers spend any money on security: IBM.

New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin has an iPhone but only knows how to text. "I don't trust the lady in GPS. Don't trust her."

75% of traffic for Pinterest comes from mobile: eMarketer.

In 2002, no one sent videos/photos via text message in America. In 2013, more than 10 billion were exchanged monthly: CTIA.

App Yik Yak has built geofences around 100,000 high schools in the United States to clamp down on cyber-bullying.

85% of the world's transactions are still made with cash: MasterCard.

A network of Bluetooth beacons will soon guide the blind through the London Underground: Wired.

HTC will give you a new One M9 smartphone if your M9 cracks or falls into the can.

Mobile video is 6.5X more effective than mobile display, per new research from the Mobile Marketing Association.